Monday, 6 January 2014

Wishing all my readers a Very Happy New year.
I do hope you all had a good Christmas Celebration and New Years Celebration.

We celebrated both with a bang eeven though 2013 was not such a good year for us, we all decided at home that we should celebrate christmas and also had a good party on New years eve in my FIL's home.
I know I am a bit late in posting the cake, but as usual during this period I rarley have time to write a post.
Now I do love a traditional Christmas cake soaked with rum etc... but other than me no one like a cake like that.

So I opted for make a christmas yule log or bûche de Noël .
The recipe I took from a french food magazine, Ok I don't know french other thanfew words except I can understand most of the food names as here in the shops we have labeling in dutch and french plus I keep on buying all these french food magzines so ofcourse i understand now the ingrdient list just I have to ask Hans to translate the recipe how to make them :-)

I do have step by step picture how to make the cake. I will add them when I have a bit time to edit the pictures.

Ingridients:

250 gm chestnut cream
75 gm flour
100 gm sugar
25 gm cacao powder + 2 tbsp for sprinkling
4 to 5 tbsp whisky for sprinkling on to your cake
3 tbsp whisky for adding into the chestnut cream
250 gm heavy cream
3 tbsp of cream extra for adding the soaked gelatine.
4 eggs yolk and whites seperated
40 gm soft unslated butter
2 1/2 gelatine leafs
Few table spoon of grated dark chocolate for decoration
Preheat the oven to 220°c.
Whisk the egg whites and keep it aside.
Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar till it is pale and fluffy ( till you see the ribbon stage when you lift the whisk)
Add the sieved flour and cacao powder and fold in.
Then fold in the whisked egg whites carfully making sure you don't sestroy to much of the air bubbles.
Pour the mix into a lined baking tray and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

When it is baked cover it immidietly with a tea towel and remove from the baking tray to a rack.
Remove the baking paper carefully and cool for 5 minutes
Sprinkle on a clean kitchen towel some sugar and when the cake is baked dump the cake to the tea towel and remove the baking tray, leave it to cool for few minutes and then pull of the baking paper. ( it doesn't matter if it stick and you have to pull a bit as it will get covered up when you spread the cream mix and roll )
In the mean time make the chestnut cream mix.
Soak the gelatine leaves in plenty of cold water for 5 minutes. Squeeze out the excess water and add the gelatine into the hot cream ( 3 tbsp of extra cream, heat this up in a small bowl in the MW)
Leave it to cool slightly this mix.
In a another bowl whisk the chestnut cream,whisky and butter into a creamy mix.
Whisk the 250 ml of heavy cream together with the gelatine mix ( pour the gelatine mix slowly while you whipp the heavy cream)
Fold the heavy cream into the chestnut mix .
When the cake is cool ( it might take some 10 to 15 minutes for the cake to cool) sprinkle the whisky on the cake.
And spread the chestnut cream mix evenly and roll it up.
And spread the rest of the cream mix on the top and all the sides .
Sprinkls the grated chocolate.
Leave in the fridge for atleast 3 hours before you slice and serve it.